Incident
by Deona Lindholm
Summary: Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. Reunion leads to disaster...and disaster to destiny. STORY COMPLETE!
1. Reunion

_Incident_

_By Deona Lindholm_

_Chapter 1: Reunion_

_Author's Note 1: The story, **Angel Amulet**, is pulled, but only temporarily. You see, I'm renovating the existing chapters, then will add new material. I hope this story will tide everyone over until then! Also, Dea's appearance is more modeled from a character named Katarina in a game called Suikoden IV, so Mary Sue hunters, look elsewhere!_

_Author's Note 2: Incident takes place some time before **Angel Amulet.**_

The entire thing began with a strange communication that the _The Pride_ had received. Unlike the other messages (which were old), this one was actually _live_.

"…_come in! If you can hear me, come in, Jayce!"_

At the time that this message came in, the ship was en route to planet Aunitia, where a friend of Jayce's, Dea, had some news in regards to the Root, as well as a favor to ask. But when he heard the voice over the live communication, Jayce's heart stopped for a second.

"Father…? Is that you?"

The voice turned from desperate to relieved. _"So it is you! Dea was right!"_

Almost involuntarily, tears had filled the young man's eyes. "Where are you?" he asked, his voice trembling. After the incident on the Circus Planet, he had hardly dared to hope that any new trace could be found. After all, the transporter malfunction had whisked the older man away, parts unknown, in an instant.

"_I'm on Aunitia. Hurry over and we'll talk."_

Those very words had stayed in everyone's minds as the barge went at a faster speed, arriving on the planet, landing a short distance from the capital city, Darane. They continued to echo in Jayce's mind as he sped down several streets, not bothering to look about him this time.

Aunitia was extremely similar to Jayce's home planet in every way, including the technology. Even the plants were identical, which had surprised everyone at first until Dea had explained that Aunitia was a colony, one that had survived when the homeworld was destroyed by the Monster Minds. When Gillian and Herc had asked her why the planet was untouched so far, the woman would do nothing but shake her head. Worldkin or not, she was not about to tell and risk the secret being let out.

As they hurried down the streets, Jayce thought back to the very first time they had visited Aunitia and had met the woman…

_They had found a special recording attached to a drifting satellite. It had been rigged so that if the one that touched the object was a Monster Mind, it would self-destruct. If any regular human, there would be a message to locate Jayce and hand it over._

_When Jayce touched it after bringing the object aboard, a holographic version of Audric stood on the deck._

"_Jayce…I don't have much time, so listen closely," he said, "There is someone I want you and the others to meet. The person is a highly skilled scientist, especially for her age, and her name is Dea. Next to me, her knowledge on Monster Minds as well as the Root is the best, and quite vast. You can find her on the planet Aunitia, the capital city of Darane, Aunitia Center."_

_The Lightning League had immediately set course for the planet. Once in orbit, Flora stated that she could already tell one thing: If she set foot on the surface, her powers would be completely blocked, but otherwise, she would be all right._

_When they arrived in Darane, the group had taken a few wrong turns, thanks to some deliberately incorrect information by two of the city folk. As such, they had arrived in a section that was filled with greenhouses…greenhouses that were right next door to a medium-sized building that was extremely similar in design to Jayce's home planet._

_Flora had walked up to one of the greenhouses when they all heard shouting behind them._

"_Freeze! Hands up!" a very rough, masculine voice shouted, and they all heard the sound of energy weapons being primed._

_All of them quickly complied, although Herc gave Jayce a now-what-did-we-do look, which the younger man had ignored._

_One of the men, wearing a brown body uniform with a green insert in the midsection, peered at Jayce for a long moment before he snapped, "Get the chief! Don't move, or you're toast!"_

"_I'm already here, Biron," a female voice spoke from behind, perpetually level and usually quiet tone marred with steel._

_She stepped forward as the guards moved, showing a young woman that was in her early twenties, and about his height. She had sun blonde hair that was neatly put up in a __type of towering bun. Around her heard was a circlet, with a garnet drop hanging in the middle of her forehead. She had a pert little nose, a round face that was smooth, a little rosebud mouth and not-too-wide bright, hazel eyes that almost always seemed to twinkle in amusement…although right now, they were severe. Her frame was a bit petite, yet hid strength that others would not expect, and she wore a similar outfit to the man she called Biron, a body uniform, although hers was carnation pink, with a lighter shade for an insert. She wore matching leg-length boots…and at the moment, she was carrying an energy pistol that she aimed right at the League._

"_Chief," Biron said to her, "We caught these trespassers just now."_

"_More like spies," another one of the brown-uniform wears said, his voice nasally, "They're with the enemy for sure!"_

"_Whoa, wait a minute!" Herc snapped and started to step forward._

_That was discouraged by a shot from the woman's pistol, aimed at the ground not even a half-inch from him._

"_I wouldn't budge an inch if I were you," she said, steel in her tone strengthening, "Unless you're suicidal. Who sent you? Dr. Zorg? Sawboss?"_

_Jayce remained where he was and asked, "Are you Dea?"_

_Her eyes narrowed and she asked, "Who are you, first?"_

_He said calmly, "My name is Jayce. We received a message from my father Audric, attached to a satellite. He said to come here and meet with a scientist named Dea."_

_Her eyes widened and she asked quietly, "Uncle Audric sent you?"_

_The reaction from Jayce was one of pure shock as he said, "__**Uncle**__ Audric? You're related to my father?"_

_She smiled a little and lowered her weapon, then motioned for the others to do the same._

"_Stand down," she ordered, the steel leaving her voice, "These are not the enemy."_

"_How can you be so—" Biron snapped._

"_I __**said**__ to stand down, Biron, __**now!**"_

_He sighed angrily and put his weapon away, as did the others._

_The woman turned back and bowed elegantly before she said, "I'm Dea, Chief Instructor of Aunitia Center. Let's go inside where we can talk."_

It had turned out that the Lightning League had wound up in a classified area of the facility. They had been escorted, politely, to the main part of the facility. After an explanation, Dea had left the planet and joined the Lightning League, fighting the Monster Minds right alongside of Jayce and the others. Six months later, she had been called back to Aunitia, when the Executive Director had died in an accident…and she had been named as his replacement. With a heavy heart, she returned to her home planet and took on the new role, promising that she would dedicate the entire Center to help in the fight against the Monster Minds.

Within hours, Jayce, Gillian and the others had arrived at a set of buildings that reminded Flora and the young man of the school that the latter had attended, although both of them knew that the purpose was completely different. This, the Aunitia Center, specialized in medical and technological research. At times, the Executive Director of the Center would hint at a secret section, yet never speak out loud. The only person that even seemed to have an inkling as to what it was or if it existed was Flora, and, well, she wasn't talking either.

The group only slowed down the moment they reached the receptionist's desk. As most of them paused to catch their breaths, Flora asked, "Excuse me, but is the Executive Director in?"

The receptionist looked down and saw the child-like being. She knew that Flora was not really a human. She was a plant that was created to look like a ten-year-old human girl. Her creators had been Gillian and Audric himself.

The woman smiled and said, "She is, but she's seeing someone right now. I know she'll want to see you right away, so go on ahead. I know the one she's talking to right now wouldn't mind either."

As Flora spoke to the receptionist, the Root around Jayce's neck, which had been faintly vibrating, suddenly increased in strength. At first, he felt a strong hope, which faded when he remembered that Dea had an item of Audric's in her possession: Namely, a circlet that she always wore.

"Thanks," Jayce had said and hurried through the many corridors until he heard a whisper and then a familiar voice, a female one.

"I knew it," the voice said, giggled, then spoke, "I know that running anywhere. Come on in, Jayce."

As soon as Jayce opened the door, he smiled abashedly and walked in, closing it behind him carefully. He then turned at the perspective speaker.

The Executive Director, Dea, was almost exactly as Jayce remembered. It had been almost a year since he last saw the young woman. Her outfit, instead of the two-tone pink uniform, was a pure white one that was extremely similar to Jayce's. The difference, though, was that there was a identification tag that displayed her picture, name and position.

"My, that was fast, even for you. I didn't know you were that anxious to see me, Jayce," she teased him.

"Well, ah…yes, I am, but there's another reason," he replied, managing to hide the blush after a long moment. No matter what, Dea had always managed to embarrass him. "It's father…I just heard from him…really heard! He's here on Aunitia, but didn't say where—"

"I know."

He blinked, which caused her to laugh.

"I know exactly where he is…don't I…uncle?" she continued, her voice raising a bit in amusement and turned to her private office, which was to the left.

The door to the office opened and a very familiar figure walked through it, face matching Dea's in amusement.

"I would say you know where."

"Father!" Jayce exclaimed, his eyes welling again. He couldn't help his reaction. He ran to the man, hoping that he could reach him, for once, before something, _anything_, could happen to ruin this…like a freak teleporter zap.

Thankfully, nothing of the such happened as Audric took him into a fierce embrace, which was returned. Dea smiled and silently walked out of her office into the corridor. It had been a long time coming, this reunion. They deserved some time alone.

In the office, Jayce had tried to speak, but (to his later chagrin), the only thing that came out were relieved sobs.

Audric chuckled, smiled and held him tighter, quite understanding why his own son was reacting like this. After all, the last time they had seen each other was on the Circus Planet, when he had been teleported away before he could even embrace the son that he saw.

After a few moments, Jayce's cries subsided enough that he asked, "How…? The last time I saw you…"

"Yes, I know. Fate truly smiled on me that time, though I didn't realize it at first. That beam brought me here, to Aunitia," he replied wryly. "I wound up in the secret sector, of all things. Dea came down right away and was able to convince everyone to keep quiet about my very presence, then brought me up to speed on everything, including you."

As he wiped his eyes, the younger man replied, "I really owe her this time."

Audric chuckled and didn't reply to the statement, although before anything else could be said, the two of them heard voices coming from outside the door.

"Heey lady, why are ya not lettin' anybody in?"

"Is Jayce in there?" a girl's voice asked.

"Yes he is, and you're going to stay out here for a little bit. Someone else is in there too, and they need some time to themselves first, Flora. It's been long overdue," they heard Dea reply.

"That means—"

"Yes, Oon, that's exactly what it means."

Jayce chuckled and said, "Dea's being sweet…but I'm not the only one that's missed you."

"Just the one that's missed me the most, eh son?"

There was merely a quiet nod and a soft "Exactly," before the door opened and the entire group spilled into the office, with Dea closing the door behind her.

"Master Audric!" Oon exclaimed and ran over, grabbing Audric's left leg, while Flora grabbed the right.

0000000000

Far away, in what had been the remains of Audric's laboratory, Sawboss was planning his next target when two beings arrived in his chamber: Terror Tank and a humanoid.

"Dr. Zorg...what is it?" he asked in his cold manner.

The Gun Grinner went first, to the doctor's disgust, "We've tracked the transporter beam that misfired at the Circus Planet and have confirmed it's destination point."

"Oh? So where did he land?"

Zorg managed to answer, "Audric is on planet Aunitia."

Sawboss grimaced. "Hmm, Aunitia...the one planet we've had to avoid..."

"Yes, because of the barrier around the planet. I have a solution you might like."

"Tell me, then!"

Sawboss had to keep from losing his temper as both the Gun Grinner and Zord explained the solution, almost overlapping each other. After a few minutes, though, he couldn't help but share in the enthusiasm.

_This may actually work for once!_

"And how long between our arrival and implementation?"

"When we arrive, we'll have passed the first window. We'll be ready by the second. The receptacle on Aunitia's moon from our last attempt is still operational."

"Excellent! In the name of the Black Light, I go!"

Gun Grinner dug into the mixture of ground and floor, while the doctor had to hold onto something as the base lurched before disappearing.


	2. Twilight

_Chapter 2: Twilight_

When Jayce and the other had arrived on Aunitia, the morning meal had already passed, so Dea had stepped out of the office only long enough to stop a pair of students, both rather young in their teenage years.

"Yes, Director?" one of them, a boy, asked.

"I want you to go to the cafeteria and bring enough food for six humans, including myself. Also, bring some of the water that's designed for plants."

"Y-Yes, Director Dea!" The two teens replied and then ran off.

She shook her head, partly bemused, and then turned to the waiting room outside of her private office, where Jayce, Audric and the others were seated.

"The food should be here soon. Even Uncle Audric hasn't eaten since he arrived here around midnight," she replied.

"Thank you, _Maskura_," the elder scientist replied gratefully.

"Huh? What's _maskura_ mean?" Jayce asked.

She glared at Audric for a moment before replying, "As you know, your world and mine share a mostly common language. Aunitia uses an older variation sometimes. _Maskura_ means _little niece_."

"Oh, I get it."

She then said, tone serious, "Now, down to business. Audric, as much as I wish I could say otherwise, it'll take some time before we're ready to begin."

"Ready to begin what?" Herc asked.

Dea and Audric look at each other for a moment, then nodded. The woman got up and turned on a small device near the window. Once activated, a moderate, white noise started playing.

"A noisemaker, to prevent eavesdropping," she explained. "Jayce, you remember that area you found yourselves in when we first met? Uncle wound up there last night when he arrived."

"Yeah, a classified part of the facility."

"Yes...it's the secret sector. On paper, it's for famine relief experiments and handles spices for the Center's food. In reality, it's an Anti-Monster Mind R&D division."

"Wow...!" Jayce remarked, while Herc let out a low whistle. Flora didn't look surprised, which Gillian saw.

"Child, you knew of the secret sector?"

"Yes, Gillian. While it's true that Flora's been in a special garden, she's also been very helpful to the sector. It's made great strides in anti-Monster Mind measures, thanks to her."

"So what's over there that's gonna get started?" Herc asked, "Cloak an' daggers are good an' all, but how about a little light, huh?"

She shook her head and stated, "In the secret section, there are a small set of rooms, made for the purpose of grafting the Roots together."

"Grafting the Roots...you certainly come prepared, Dea," Gillian remarked.

"I helped with those rooms, too!" Flora put in.

"How long before that area is ready?" Jayce asked.

"It won't be until tomorrow afternoon. Until then, the whole bunch of you are my personal guests. I've set up quarters on the campus as well as Omega level clearance for each of you, and I've changed Flora's clearance level accordingly as well."

"Omega level? Are you sure...?" the young man asked.

"Yes. Only Alpha and Omega clearance levels are allowed in the secret sector, and only Omega class is allowed in the Grafting area."

"You're very thorough," Gillian remarked.

"I said that I was dedicating the Center to the fight, and I meant it."

There was a knock on the door and a few grunts.

"How many know Father is here?" Jayce asked.

"A good number know...and all of which I trust," she replied and got up. When she opened the door, she saw that six people had come with the food she had requested and moved a portable table before helping them set the food on it.

"All right, folks, it's chow time!" Herc said and started grabbing a plate of sausages and eggs.

"This stuff sure smells good!" Jayce agreed, getting some pancakes and toast.

"Less talk, more eating," Audric teased as he got a plate full as well.

0000000000

On Aunitia's moon, the mobile base of the Monster Minds appeared, a black, shimmering orb that gradually became metal-silver, covered with monster vines.

In the throne room, Dr. Zorg got up from where he had been sprawled when the base had moved locations. The Gun Grinner simply retracted the little hooks that were attached to his tires.

SawBoss, on the other hand, was unfazed.

"Gun Grinner, leave us," the leader ordered, then waited until the mutant plant had departed and was out of earshot.

"Dr. Zorg...now that we are here, how long before the next step is started?"

"That will be in a few hours."

"And the strike?"

"At sunrise."

There was a creepy, little smile that slowly spread over SawBoss's face at the news.

"Good...get started at once!"

0000000000

Dea smiled as she signed some papers in her office, thinking about the events of that morning. After the group had eaten a hearty breakfast, she told them where each person was going to be spending their time at...and gave an innocent look when she added that Jayce and Audric would be sharing quarters. At the same time, she made a few mental predictions as to where each of the members of the Lightning League would be going.

Within minutes, Flora had gone to the secret sector with her flying fish, Brock. A few of the newer staff had 'commed in complaints about a girl riding a fish in the hallways, only to be told to be quiet about the matter. The older members simply acted as though it was the most natural thing on Aunitia.

Before Herc had taken off, Dea had said to him, "I know where you're headed...just don't do something that'll get you either arrested or untoward attention drawn to yourself, okay? I'd hate to have to post bail again."

"Relax, kiddo," he replied, "I'm gonna get some drinks. I'll be fine."

Gillian she wasn't too worried about, as she knew where he would go: the Aunitia Center's library. She recently had opened a new wing there, and all the material there were on a brand-new lifeform that she herself had discovered just a few months before on one of her research trips.

It was debatable, however, as to whether or not Gillian would be able to tear himself away from the tomes on the ancient past enough to check out the new section about the Dataforms.

She had also suggested that Jayce and Audric go out and about in Darane, especially the botanical gardens and a flight simulator at one of the all-ages midways near the downtown plaza. Sure enough, when she went in that direction for lunch, she saw the two of them at a restaurant that was well-known for cuisine from their home planet.

Now, she sighed and thought back to her first meeting with Jayce, as well as the previous night, when she had been rudely awakened...

_There were klaxons going off in Dea's room, and a red flight began to flash, coming from her computer console. The noise immediately woke the woman from a rather nice dream she had been having._

_She quickly got up from her bed, pushing back hair that was bedraggled and hanging loosely down her back, then hit a set of keys that shut off the alert signal._

_After looking at the set of code numbers that indicated what section the noise came from, she shook herself wide awake._

_**Area 11...that's the secret section!**_

"_Area 11, this is Dea. What's going on?"_

"_**Director, this is Biron. An intruder just arrived from outta nowhere.**"_

"_Intruder? Is it one of SawBoss' cronies?"_

"_No, he's human, and he's demanding to see you."_

_She sighed and replied, "I'm on my way."_

_Not bothering with her hair, Dea grabbed a hand-held laser and quickly ran to Area 11. After she unlocked the main door, she saw Biron in front of her._

"_Director, the intruder's inside the prep room, just before the grafting area. He was found there."_

_She nodded and said, "This had better be good," and walked quickly, using her security clearance level to quickly get the passageways opened. Once she approached the prep room, she saw one of the security squads surrounding someone, pistols and hand lasers at the ready._

"_All right, I'm here," she ordered, "Now let's see who the intruder is." She motioned with her hand to the front four members to stand aside so that she could see._

_When they complied, Dea's eyes widened when she saw just who they were surrounding._

"_Audric?" she asked, voice both shocked and cautious._

_He looked up and breathed a loud sigh of relief before calling out, "Maskura!"_

_**It **is **him!** She thought and ordered, "Everyone, stand down, now!"_

_As soon as the security tram had holstered their weapons, Dea hurried over to the older man and hugged him fiercely. Audric, surprised, hugged her back after a moment._

"_Thank goodness you're all right," she said after a moment, "How in blazes did you get here?"_

"_In my last location, a freak teleporter beam zapped me...just moments before I could reach my son."_

_Her face twisted into a grimace and she let go of him. "That...has got to be painful for him. I'll catch you up on things later. Right now, though..."_

_She faced the members of the section and the security team before saying, "This is Audric Sarissen. Yes, the same Audric that Jayce and his friends are looking for. Until I can bring the Lightning League here, word of his presence is not to be uttered outside of this section. Understood?"_

"_Yes, Director!"_

"_Also, effective immediately, Audric is granted Omega-class clearance throughout the Aunitia Center. Biron, see to it at once."_

"_At once, Director Dea!"_

"_Now, go about your business."_

_As the security team dispersed, Dea said to Audric, "I'm glad you remembered the code phrase to tell you apart from any imposters."_

"_Of course I'd remember. Right now, though, I'm more anxious about my son--"_

"_We'll contact Jayce together in a little bit, uncle. Let's go to my rooms first."_

Dea shook her head out of her thoughts and stood up. She went over to the window and gazed out of it.

The setting sun bathed the city of Darane in a warm, golden light that seemed to gently spread from house to house, hill to hill.

_It reminds me of the myths regarding the Light of Purity,_ she thought, _describing it as golden light that was beautiful and warm, seeming to spread from nowhere onto eternity. The myths also said that it ran counter to the phenomenon known as the Black Light and Black Wave. If it really existed, we could definitely use it about now._

She sighed and gripped the metal railing with a smile.

_At least Jayce and Audric are reunited...at least I could give the young leader that much of a gift._

That was when she felt a small, sharp pain in her arm.

"Ow!"

She looked around and rubbed the spot instinctively. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she checked her arm.

There was nothing visible, and when she finished checking, the spot started to itch.

"Hmph...it really is starting to get into summer, now that the bugs are out and biting," she said to herself before going back to her desk long enough to finish signing a pair of documents.

_I'm planning taking Audric, Jayce and the others out to dinner, then calling it an early night. Light knows we'll be very busy tomorrow._

0000000000

Audric chuckled and shook his head as he watched Jayce turning the steering wheel to first the left, then the right, focusing entirely on what was in front of him.

"Not so hard on the accelerator, son," he advised, "You're liable to crash that way."

"I'm trying, father," he replied, "but trying to turn this thing without it is—aagh!"

Audric grimaced, although inside he was laughing a little. It was ironic and a bit hard to believe that the same young man before him that could handle the Lightning League vehicles without a problem couldn't control a race car on a virtual racing game in one of the midways downtown.

"Crashed again, eh?" he asked with a small laugh.

"It's embarrassing, father," Jayce admitted as the overhead screen blinked in large, yellow letters: _GAME OVER_, "I can drive each of the defensive vehicles in my sleep, but I crash every time I try handling a simple race car!"

"Don't feel too bad, Jayce," Audric replied with a laugh, "I had the same problem when I was your age. Only difference is, I could handle the flight simulator...just not ground cars."

That made the young man laugh at the image that popped into his mind.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Jayce said and then tried to change the subject, "You know, if I know Dea, she'll want all of us to go out for dinner tonight."

"Yes, and probably in one of the more elegant restaurants in the city, followed by calling it an early night," Audric agreed, "After all, we start grafting the Roots together tomorrow afternoon at the latest. If we're lucky, it'll be done tomorrow morning."

That got a laugh out of Jayce. "That sounds like Dea's hand at work, all right. Where did you meet her, anyway?"

That question made Audric falter a little. "What did she tell you?"

"Just that she was on the original team that was involved with your project."

He nodded. "Yes...she was. That's where I met her. The youngest on the team, and a true prodigy. She was a witness to the incident that gave rise to the Monster Minds. That's why she knows as much about them as I do."

The older man's eyes dimmed a bit as he thought back.

"Father, don't worry," Jayce said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "After we graft the Roots together tomorrow, they won't be harming anyone anymore. We can see about a bigger celebration then."

"You're right about that, son. By that time--ouch!"

Audric slapped at his neck, feeling a small, sharp pain.

"You all right?"

"Yes...just a bug bite. You know Aunitian summer is here when the bugs start coming out to bit people. Jayce, how about we go check on Flora before we get ready for Dea's dinner plans?"

"What about the grafting chambers?"

"I'll show those to you early tomorrow morning."

As Audric and Jayce walked off from the outdoor midway, a small glimmer of dark light appeared from a flower bed that had been planted beside a fountain. If anyone had looked at that moment, they would have seen a small creature, shaped like an iris, amongst the flowers, with a pair of black eyes glittering and alternating flashes of black and white.

0000000000

At the Aunitia Center, Biron, the young man with black hair and wearing the brown body uniform with the green insert that had the color of the security department was going by the door leading to Area 11 when a thump from behind sent him forward enough that he landed, front first, onto the floor.

"Ow...! Who was that?" he grumbled.

"Ouch...sorry sir! I need to find Director Dea right away. There's a problem, a serious one."

"A serious problem?" he asked as he got up, then looked the hurried young redhead with disdain, "What kind of problem, Allen?"

"Well, you know that this planet is protected from enemies thanks to a shield that affects sentient botanicals, right?"

"Anyone here knows that. What about it?"

"Well, the shield is run by two main transmitter locations. One's on the southern continent, the other is here in Darane. When one's active, the other is recharging. According to some old records, whenever the transmitters shifted their modes, there used to be only a split second delay before the second transmitter activated."

"Yeah, yeah, so what?"

"So what? That delay time's been growing bigger and bigger. Now, twice a day, there's a five minute period in which the barrier is not active."

Biron nodded then placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder and squeezed. "Hey buddy, calm down now...relax..."

Allen took a few deep breaths, his quick breathing gradually slowing down.

"Ok, I get the gist You get back to your post. I'll report to the director about this myself."

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Allen nodded as Biron let go of him, then the redhead hurried back to his post inside Area 11.

The security guard turned to punch in a series of codes that would allow him to reach Dia directly. However, as he started to enter the first series of codes, he felt a sharp pain hit him in the back of the head and quickly lost consciousness.


	3. Disaster

_Chapter 3: Disaster_

That night, Jayce and Audric were laughing as they entered their assigned quarters at the Aunitia Center.

"Does Herc always eat that much?" the older man asked.

"Yes, he does. He eats more than the rest of us. But what surprised me is that he managed to eat that entire platter of Aunitian Bison burgers and still had room for fries and that nasty-smelling drink."

"That nasty-smelling drink is Orias spice-brandy, son. I don't blame you, I think it smells horrible."

Jayce closed his eyes, then after a moment, he opened them and pinched Audric's arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Just making sure I'm not dreaming this time, father. I've had a few dreams of finally finding you, only to find they are just that...dreams."

Audric chuckled and said, "Well that's not the way to make sure, Jayce. It's like _this_."

That was when Audric pinched his son's arm.

"Ouch!" he yelped and rubbed his upper left arm, where he had been pinched.

"Now that we both know we're not dreaming, how about we get some sleep, like Dea suggested?"

"That sounds good, actually. 'Night, father," the younger man yawned, then picked one of the beds and lay down. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Audric shook his head in bemusement and ruffled Jayce's hair.

The older man had a very good idea as to why Dea had the two men stay in the same quarters, and he was very grateful for it. After all, throughout the day in the city, Audric could tell that Jayce had missed him very much, and that the near misses in their travels had been painful, especially the last one at Circus Planet.

_I missed you too, son, as much or more than you did. But after tomorrow, we can destroy Sawboss and the Monster Minds. Then we all can go back to normal lives and not worry about things like we have these past few years._

Audric smiled and removed the Root from his neck and placed it on the stand right beside Jayce's bed.

_I think it'll be safe there for tonight._

After a moment, he sat on his bed and simply gazed at the son he had not seen in a very long time, staying quiet.

_Just a little longer...all we need to do now is to graft the Roots together tomorrow, then we can use it... _he thought.

0000000000

Unlike the sunset, the light of dawn on the city of Darane was not warm and golden. Instead, the air had a chill to it from the false dawn conditions, and the light that accompanied the rising of the sun was red.

As the light of the sun touched the Aunitia center, Dea was standing at the window, smiling. The young woman was always an early riser, always awake and dressed an hour before sunrise.

This morning, though, gave her more reason to smile. A few minutes before, she had gotten a message from Area 11. The grafting chambers would be ready within the hour. Her response was that immediately after breakfast, she, Audric, Flora and Jayce would be there.

_We're almost there,_ she thought, _just a couple of hours and we'll graft the Root halves together._

That thought, and the light of dawn, was the last things she was aware of before her vision filled with sparkles, then nothing but black oblivion.

0000000000

In the security department's command room, an alarm suddenly went off.

"What's the noise?" a balding, muscular man in his forties asked.

"Intrusion alert, Commander Marks," a young woman with short, brown hair replied, "An unauthorized electronic signal was registered 30.5 seconds ago."

"A signal? Pinpoint the location."

"Aye, sir," the woman replied, and then tapped some keys on the keyboard in front of her.

"Well?" Marks asked, tone growing impatient.

"Location pinpointed," she reported, "Main Tower, level 5, quarters 2133."

There was a collective hiss from the others, and Marks growled, "2133! That's Executive Director Dea's quarters! Ninase, scan her quarters for lifesigns, any kind!"

"I already did, sir," Ninase, the brown-haired woman replied, "There's nobody there, not even the Director!"

Marks cursed and replied in a crisp tone, "Send a team to her quarters and investigate."

"Aye, sir! Lieutenant Tonks, send your team to Main Tower, level 5, quarters 2133!"

"I've got a bad feeling about this...at this hour, Director Dea's always in her quarters..." he muttered.

As soon as Ninase completed the relay of orders, Marks grumbled, "And shut off that blooming alarm!"

She frowned and said, "I did a moment ago."

A second officer, a muscular man with black hair said, "Second intrusive alert! A second unauthorized signal just registered."

"What? Lock down the location and jam it, Fiers!"

"Too late, sir," Ninase replied, "it disappeared. I got the location, though."

"Well?"

"Eastern Complex, Level 3, quarters 1135!"

"Who's registered in that area?" Marks asked.

"Holy galaxies," Fiers cursed, "registered users: Audric and Jayce Sarissen!"

Marks snapped, "Fiers, Ninase, you come with me!" and then made sure his hand-held laser was in its place and charged before storming out of the command room.

_I have a bad feeling about this..._

0000000000

Jayce groaned as he felt someone shaking his shoulder rather roughly.

"...kid! C'mon kid, wake up!" he heard.

_What's going on...? Why is Herc being this rough...?_

"Jayce, wake up!" he heard Flora calling out, sounding very upset.

The young man opened his eyes, then looked around him.

Herc, Flora and three people that he didn't recognize were in his assigned quarters. Behind them, there was a clattering noise and a stammering voice called out, "M-m-master Jayce! I-it's awful!"

"What happened?"

"Dea's missing, kid," Herc replied, face grim, 'and a moment ago, these three muscleheads wanted to break into here. They were yellin' a lot of stuff..."

"You Jayce?" the eldest of the three 'muscleheads', as Herc had put it, asked.

"Yes."

"Can you tell me where the other occupant of this room went, last you knew?"

"That was last night. We were both here and getting ready to get some sleep."

"M-m-master Jayce!"

"You sure you or he didn't go anywhere else?"

"I'm positive; I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed."

The stammering voice let out a huff and spoke louder, "M-m-Master Jayce! I saw what happened!"

That made everyone turn towards the voice's owner: Oon.

"What'd you see, metalmouth?" Herc asked.

"W-well, the sun was rising and M-master Audric was sitting in the bed, sleeping. As soon as the sunlight was on his face, I saw, for a second, some vines, then swirls of black and white, right where he was sitting. A second later, he was gone!"

"Swirls of light...and vines...think this metaltrap knows what he's talking about?" the balding man asked.

"I hate to say it...Commander," Herc replied after peering at the man's rank, "But I know what he's talkin' about. Flora, you sense anything around then?"

"Yes," she replied, "I thought I felt something for a moment, then it vanished as soon as it came."

"If I'm right about this," Jayce said in an angry tone, "then the Monster Minds have kidnapped both Dea _and_ father!"

The Commander hmphed and asked, "How's that possible? They'd have to get past the planetary barrier, first--"

There was a beep coming from the nearby console.

"'xcuse me a moment, people," the man said, then walked to the console. "Yes?"

As he turned to the console, Jayce quickly looked around him, then spotted an item on the stand beside the bed.

_Father's Root...he left it here before he was kidnapped. A small blessing that Sawboss didn't take it, but we still have to somehow get my father back!_

"_Commander Marks, this is Lieutenant Tonks. We've examined the Director's quarters. She's definitely gone. We found a piece of paper near the glass door to the balcony."_

"Bring that paper to Eastern Complex, Level 3, quarters 1135."

"_Yessir."_

A second beep sounded just as soon as the first communique had ended.

"_Commander Marks, this is the infirmary. One of your men on the night shift was found a few moments ago, with a couple of injuries, including a concussion. He's insistent on speaking to Director Dea and the two Sarissens that are quartered here on the Center grounds."_

Marks frowned, then said to Jayce, who had put Audric's root around his neck as well, "You up for a walk?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go. Ninase, you stay here. When that paper comes, you deliver it to the infirmary immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

0000000000

Just in front of the gates leading to the infirmary was one of the doctors that was on duty. The doctor, a middle-aged man with brown, thinning hair, moved around a llittle to the left and right, a nervous habit. His expression was grim, eyes storm-clouded.

The now-larger group arrived, with Marks and Jayce in the front.

"Dr. Trellis," Marks said, "What happened?"

"W-well, the patient was found a few minutes ago, like I said. He was brought here by the man that found him. I gotta admit, the guy's pretty powerful and makes a good medic with his--"

"I hate to break up the admiration society," Marks interrupted, "But we're looking at a possible double-kidnapping situation. Get to the point."

"His concussion's healed up, thanks to the visitor. The patient, Biron, wants to see Director Dea and two people named Jayce and Audric."

Marks looked at Jayce for a moment, a questioning expression on his face. The young man nodded, then said, "I'm Jayce. I'll talk to him."

"Not without us, hotshot," Herc interjected.

Trellis looked between Marks and the group. When the older man nodded abruptly, the doctor sighed and said, "Just don't wreck the place. That visitor's still inside, too."

"Thanks," Jayce replied and opened the door.

In the first ward to the left was Biron, the black-haired man that Herc and Jayce remembered from the first time they had come to Aunitia. He was lying on one of the beds, and this life-signs were displayed on the monitor above his head.

"Biron?" Jayce asked quietly.

The man slowly opened his eyes and as he peered at the group, he sighed.

"Heh...I see Jayce is here...what happened to your old man and the Director?"

"Those two got nabbed," Herc replied, tone steel with anger, "And from the looks of things, the Monster Minds did it."

Biron groaned and replied, "I wouldn't doubt it...I discovered something serious some time ago, from one of the Area 11 techs."

"Something serious?" Marks asked, "Start talking!"

He was about to reply when they all heard a familiar voice ask, "Now, now, who's making all the racket and bothering the patient?"

They all turned and saw that Gillian had entered the room. He was taking off a pair of gloves that had bloodstains on them when he had heard loud noises.

"Hey...it's ok, Gillian," Biron replied, then turned to the others.

"Allen, the Area 11 tech, ran into me close to evening and explained something he had seen about the planetary barrier. I'll assume you all know what the barrier was made for, so I'll skip that explanation."

The others nodded, and Marks made a 'continue' gesture in an impatient manner.

"Well, there are 2 places that generate that barrier. One's here in Darane, and the other is in Kotova, on the southern continent. At sunrise, the Darane transmitter is operating, and at sunset the Kotova one is functional."

"To make sure that the non-operative one is recharging the batteries. Nothing serious about that."

"Yeah, but when the barrier was first made, there was only a split-second delay between operation modes. As of the time of the report, there is a five minute delay between the transmitter mode shifts, due to the equipment getting worn out."

Mark's expression darkened, "Five minutes that the barrier is not operable..."

"Yes, sir."

Herc asked, "I've got a bad feelin' about this...Jayce, you were with your old man all day yesterday, right?"

"Yes."

"Anything happen then?"

The young man was in thought for a moment, "Not really...wait a minute...near the fountain plaza, he slapped at his neck. He said he must have been bit by one of the summer bugs."

The doctor, who was listening, added, "Bit by a bug, eh? Come to think of it, Dea came by here in the early evening and said that at sunset, she had been bitten by one of the bugs, too."

"When did Audric get bit?" Gillian asked.

"At sunset," Jayce replied.

"And the Kotova barrier activates at sunset...kids, I'm getting' the picture, and it looks downright ugly," Herc said.

Gillian put in, "The kidnappers found out somehow that Audric was here--"

"And exploited the barrier's weakness. Audric and Dea were both injected with something at sunset," Flora continued.

"Then t-t-teleported out at sunrise," Oon continued.

Marks frowned, then said, "Now all we need to confirm who the kidnappers are."

"Commander Marks!" they heard from behind, "Here's the paper that you wanted delivered. It's addressed to a Jayce--"

Marks pointed to Jayce, who took the paper from Ninase.

Herc looked over Jayce's shoulder as the young man read it.

"Those freaking monkey minds crossed the line this time," the mercenary said with a growl in his voice.

"It says here," Jayce began to recite the letter.

_Jayce,_

_I will get to the point: I have taken both that Aunitian girl and your father. They are not harmed...so far. Bring both halves of the Root and your Lightning League to the planet Kitta III. If you don't hand over the Roots, the hostages will be executed. If you bring anyone extra or other than the Lightning League, Audric and the girl will be destroyed._

_Sawboss, Leader of the Monster Minds and Supreme Ruler of the universe._

After the young man finished reciting the ransom note, there was utter silence.

Flora broke the silence with a tentative, "What're we gonna do, Jayce...?"

Jayce replied, "Simple."

Herc nodded in a 'well?' manner.

The young man crushed the ransom note in his hand as he continued, "We're going to Kitta III to rescue Dea and Father."

"You better not be planning on taking Sawboss up on his trade," Biron stated.

"No, I'm not. He's made one mistake too many."

Marks turned and said, "Ninase, get a team ready to go with the Lightning--"

"Hey, hey! Hold it, big guy! Didn't you head what was said? You bring anyone from here along and those Monster Minds'll kill Audric _and_ your Director!" Herc snapped at the balding man.

Marks growled then spoke a string of curse words in the Aunitian language. Before he could even get the first word out, Gillian quickly put his hands over Flora's ears.

"Don't worry, Commander," Jayce cut in, "We'll get Father and Dea back. While we do, we'll need someone that can keep the Center together. If they find out what happened, the people are going to panic."

"Hmph...you're right there, kid. Plus, we've gotta find a way to shrink or get rid of the barrier's weakness _and_ flush out DaraneMarks mused.

"Flush out?" Herc asked.

"That's when we run some rays through an area that'll destroy beings like the Monster Minds. Just in case, you'd better get the kid out of here before we do that," was the reply as the security commander jerked a thumb at Flora.

"Will do."

"Now that _that's_ taken care of, we'd better get going," Gillian told them all.

Biron spoke up, "Jayce, Herc...Gillian...if you can, give 'em a good blow for me."

Jayce and Herc nodded.

"You got it."

The younger man touched both Roots around his neck and whispered.

"Dea, Father...hang in there, we're coming."


	4. Critical Decision

_Chapter 4: Critical Decision_

After leaving Aunitia, Herc immediately set course for the planet specified in Sawboss' random demand: Kitta III. The mercenary was angry enough over the situation that he even employed three not-so-legal routes that would cut down the time needed to get there. Instead of it being four days, the Barge would arrive by the following afternoon.

For once, nobody objected to this, not even Jayce or Gillian.

En route, the wizard sent an urgent message to the supercomputer Logos, asking for all data on the planet. Fortunately, Gillian got his reply within an hour. Unfortunately, the amount of information he received kept him in his quarters for the rest of the trip.

After an hour of Oon pacing around on the bridge and getting in the mercenary's way, Flora offered to take the Eternal Squire somewhere else.

"Thanks a lot, Little Orchid," was Herc's reply, right along with ruffling the plant-child's red hair. She giggled and took Oon over to her quarters, where they quietly talked about what was going on and what might happen. Her pet Zoggies, who normally would jump all over him at first sight, sense the tense air throughout the ship and stayed by the little girl's side, squeaking quietly.

Jayce stayed in his quarters, working some strategies in his mind. Some he worked on, others he discarded...and two of them admittedly frightened him to even think about.

Those two strategies would involve a sacrifice.

_No...if I can avoid it, I'm not going to sacrifice anyone. Dea is a good friend...Father...he's too dear to me, but losing the Roots...that's no option. But if I have no choice, then I..._

"_Hey, kid?"_ he heard over the comm system, close to what would be night time on a planet.

"What is it?"

"_I haven't known your old man, the real one, all that long, but I don't think he'd want you to exhaust yourself to death over a strategy to get us all out of this mess."_

He chuckled quietly. "You're getting to know me too well."

"_Heck, we're all getting to know each other way too well for my tastes. That old wizard's probably checking everywhere for info about where we're going, so save the strategy for when we hear from him, ok?"_

"All right."

"_And get some rest!"_

"I'll try."

"_...Good."_

Jayce sighed after the comm shut off and lay down on the bed in his quarters. Around his neck, both halves of the Root shimmered as they pulsed in time with each other.

_Father...Dea...hold on a little longer..._

0000000000

It wasn't until late morning, bordering on afternoon, when a communication signal went off on the bridge, awakening a snoring Herc.

The mercenary blinked and shook his head, then flipped one of the switches.

"_...come in. Herc, wake up and answer!"_

"Yeah, I hear ya, Gillian. What's up?"

"_I've finished reviewing the information about Kitta III. Can you get the others on the bridge right away? I'll explain everything there."_

"Yeah, sure, but...you don't sound too happy."

"_I'm not."_

0000000000

Within ten minutes, everyone was on the bridge. Herc stayed in his seat, but swiveled it around so that he could watch and listen in on Gillian's briefing. Brock hovered in place beside Flora, while Jayce and Oon were in their normal places. In the center of the bridge, right beside Herc, stood Gillian, his eyes red from lack of sleep and his face grave.

"Okay, we're all here," Herc said, "Now what did you find out about the planet?"

Gillian cleared his throat and began, "Nothing good, I'm afraid. Kitta III is habitable, but just barely. The ground is rather hard, but due to the large number of hills and jagged surfaces, we won't be able to land the Barge."

"Aw, that's just great," the mercenary muttered.

"The planet's moon, however, has a teleportation device that will allow us to travel from there in the defensive vehicles to the planet itself, depending on the coordinates given to it."

"Is it breathable on the moon?" Jayce asked.

"As much as Aunitia is, my boy."

Herc nodded, then said, "I'll land her on the moon...but I hope you've got enough info for a plan now, kid."

Jayce's eyes were distant as he remained silent.

The mercenary shut off the auto-pilot and took over the controls. As he did, he muttered under his breath, "Even the hotshot's quiet..._now_ I'm worried--"

There was a beep from the communications panel. Herc grumbled and said in a louder tone, "We've got an incoming transmission...three guesses as to who it's from, and the first two sure don't count."

Jayce replied, "Let's hear it."

Just as Herc had guessed, the gravelly, evil voice of Sawboss came over the speakers.

"_Hmph, you actually came alone for once, you little gnats. Good. Do you have the two parts of the Root?"_

"Yeah, we've got 'em."

"_I didn't ask you, mercenary! Or did the son of Audric lose a tongue?"_

The young man replied, "I'm right here, and I have them."

"_Good. Now, there's a teleportation machine on the moon. The coordin--"_

"Hold it right there, Sawboss. We're not going anywhere just yet," Jayce interrupted.

"Yeah! How do we know you haven't bumped those two hostages off yet?" Herc added.

"_You dare call me a liar?"_

"You'd better believe it!"

Jayce cut in with a tone of steel, "Like you said, I have both halves of the Root with me. Get Dea and Father on the line or I'll join the Root together myself, right here and now."

Herc's jaw dropped when he heard the ultimatum, and Gillian's eyes went wide.

_Can he even do that...?_

The wizard started to say something to Jayce, only for the young man to shake his head and make a shushing motion with a hand.

"_You're not serious!"_

"Am I? Do you really want to risk it?"

There was dead silence on both ends of the transmission for a full minute.

_What's gotten into Jayce?_ Flora thought.

_An extremely risky gamble, lad,_ Gillian thought, _One that could easily cause this mission to fail or succeed._

The next sound over the speakers was a much more familiar and welcome voice.

"_Jayce!"_

The young man let out a breath of relief and asked, "Father, are you and Dea all right?"

"_Yes, I'm fine,"_ Audric answered.

"_I'm itchy and not a happy camper, but I'm okay,"_ came from Dea.

"Hold on, you two, we're coming," Herc said to them.

"_Jayce, I want you to listen to me. Do what you know is right, and carry out what you must. You understand me?"_

The young man closed his eyes for a moment and shivered. When he opened them, he answered, "Yes, I understand."

There was silence for a few seconds before Sawboss demanded, _"Satisfied now, boy?"_

"Yes," was the simple reply.

"_Good. Now, the moon has a teleportation unit. The coordinates are already set. When you reach the planet, go east for 3 miles in your vehicles. That's where you'll find all of us. We'll be waiting, son of Audric!"_

With that, the transmission ended.

Herc let out a breath of relief and said, "Hoo boy...I thought he was gonna incinerate all of us when you did that."

"Hey, Jayce, can you really join the Roots all by yourself?" Flora asked.

The brown-haired man shook his head and replied, "No. Maybe if I knew how to use the Ring to do it, but I doubt it."

Her green eyes went wide and she asked in disbelief, "Y-you mean you just--"

"Hey, that was an example of a good bluff, kiddo."

"Good, but very risky," Gillian agreed.

"I hope I never have to do something like that again. Now, land on that moon, Herc."

"You got it, kid."

0000000000

On Kitta's moon, the Pride silently lowered until it landed on the surface. After a moment, one of the larger doors opened to allow 5 of the vehicles to exit the vessel. Once the last one was clear, the doors closed again.

Inside Armed Force, Jayce asked, "All right...now where's that teleporter?"

"It's on the sensors," Herc answered, "it's about 2 miles north of us."

"I see. All right, let's go save Father and Dea! Lightning Strikes!"

As all of the vehicles advanced forward, the mercenary asked, _"Hey, kid...?"_

"Yes?"

"_I switched to a private line. You do have a plan once we get there, don't you?"_

There was no reply.

"_Hey, Jayce, you're really getting me worried with being silent like that. Don't tell me you're goin' in without a plan!"_

After another moment, Jayce reluctantly, "Yeah, I do...but I can't afford to tell the others. I...don't want to worry them."

"_Worry them about what?"_

After a few seconds, Jayce replied in a quiet tone, "There's a very good chance that at least one of us won't come out of this alive."

There was silence on both ends for a couple of minutes until Herc answered, _"Hey, Jayce...I've lived for a lot longer than you have. I've seen my share of jams that didn't look good at first, and I've seen ones that were worse than they looked."_

"How about ones where the only way out may be for someone to sacrifice his life...?"

There was a pause and a hiss before the mercenary answered, _"Those, too. But ya know what, kid?"_

"What?"

"_At least right now, this doesn't look like one of those times. What do you think your old man would do if you—if that happened?"_

Again, there was nothing but silence.

"_I guess what I'm sayin', hotshot, is: Don't you dare do something like that unless there is absolutely no other option. You hear me?"_

"...I'll do that."

"_You promise?"_

"Yes, Herc, I promise."

"Good."

On the general radio, Gillian asked, _"Herc, is something wrong? You look rather grim."_

"_It's—it's nothing,"_ Herc replied, _"Just a man-to-man talk."_

"_I see. The teleporter is within sight now, and from the size, it's big enough for all the vehicles to fit on."_

"That'll make things easier on us," Jayce said.

"_Except for one thing,"_ Herc growled, _"We've got some of those Monkey Minds right in front!"_

Indeed, there were five of the Monster Minds in front of the teleporter, one for each of the troops in existence. They were in an arrowhead formation, with the Saw Trooper at the point.

Jayce checked his readings then said, "Let's see what they do. Attack only if they fire the first shot."

Four of the five Monster Minds prepared their weapons, causing the members of the Lightning League to do the same.

"_Hold your fire!"_ a gravelly voice commanded, cutting into the tense predicament.

"Who is this?" Jayce asked.

"_We are Sawboss' five troop leaders,"_ the voice answered. At the same time, the Saw Trooper's eyes glowed in time to the words. _"We are here to operate the teleporter that leads to our glorious leader and the hostages. Now, power down your weapons!"_

There was a moment when both sides refused to move. Then, the other troop leaders stood down and a moment later, so did the Lightning League's weapons.

"_Good. Now, get on the teleportation pad, in the vehicles. When you arrive, follow Sawboss' directions from earlier. If you veer off course, he will eliminate the girl, then Audric."_

Jayce nodded to the others.

"_Jayce, what are you going to do?"_ Flora asked.

"_Everyone...please, just trust me on this,"_ the young man replied, then led the five vehicles onto the transportation pad.

"Okay, so when are we gonna arrive, you plant-heads?" Herc, who was the last to board the pad, asked.

There was no reply.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, you no-good...tin..." he trailed off as he looked around him.

The five troop leaders had vanished, and their surroundings looked very different. Instead of the softer, fertile lands of the moon, the ground was extremely jagged with uneven or smooth points anywhere, just as Gillian had warned. The sky above them swirled colors of blue and dark black in various patterns, and a small pool of nearby water was a dark, red color, bubbling at different intervals.

"Oh great...now I see what you meant by this being barely habitable, Pops. The old girl would've been shredded here."

"Let's focus on the trip ahead of us," Gillian advised, then said nothing more.

To Herc, those 3 miles were the slowest, longest amount of time that he ever knew. He would look to his right, where Armed Force traveled along. More than once, he tried to get Jayce to talk to him, get him to say anything. Each time, though, the young man refused to answer the hails on the radio. Once, the mercenary tried to get his attention visually by intentionally using Spike Trike to bump into him. The only reaction that Herc got was for Jayce to look at him for a moment and shake his head. At that same moment, the older man had seen a steely, dangerous expression, with a haunted, sorrowful emotion beneath them.

_I've never seen him like this before,_ Herc thought, _good thing the others didn't hear that conversation earlier...it'd scare them silly. Heck, it's starting to scare **me**. Kid...you'd better not break that promise you made. Don't do it unless there really is no other choice._

Flora was silent as well in Drill Sergeant, her mind whirling from the events of the past two days. They had found Audric, only to lose him and Dea the following day. Now, Jayce was unnaturally silent and moody. She traveled on the other side of Jayce and saw Herc bumping into him on purpose. She glared at the mercenary, but the expression faded when she saw the younger man shake his head.

_Just what's happened to him...? I wish I could read his mind, but...there's no magic or plants here, and I can't sense anything. Jayce...what are you going to do?_

Finally, the long silence was broken when Jayce's voice came across all of the vehicles' radio channels, "There they are! Follow me!"

Herc looked up and saw, a short distance away, a mass of Monster Minds, as well as what looked like a space laboratory, covered in vines and darkness.

_That's gotta be Buzz Saw's base_, Herc thought.

A moment later, when they had almost reached the edge of the Monster Mind encampment, all of the Lightning League vehicles were surrounded by flashes of black light.

Inside Drill Sergeant, Flora quickly put a hand over her mouth and groaned, while Gillian felt as though the air around him was being constricted.

"Child? What's wrong?" Gillian asked.

"Ugh...I feel sick," she managed to reply, "I can't sense or feel anything around me anymore..."

The wizard began to reply when the vehicle jerked harshly, coming to an almost immediate stop.

"What in blazes? Spike Trike's stopped," Herc told the others and slapped the control console.

"We've all stopped," Jayce replied from Armed Force.

"_Of course you have, boy!"_

Herc looked all around him at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Sawboss!"

"_Don't even try to restart your vehicles. When you entered the encampment, the black light waves surrounded them and shortened them out!"_

"That's what you think," Gillian retorted and closed his eyes for a moment to focus, then waved a hand towards Armed Force.

Nothing happened.

"_Your magic won't work either, old man,"_ Sawboss continued, "_When you entered_ _this encampment, your powers were sealed off."_

"What's with Spinach Nose's feeling sick?" Herc asked.

"I'd say they have a more aggressive version of Aunitia's field in place," Gillian replied grimly.

"_Now...exit your vehicles at once!"_

Herc pushed the hatch opened and quickly climbed out of it, wanting to see just what kind of a trap Sawboss had dragged them into.

Jayce got out as well and looked around quickly. After a moment, he saw what he was looking for.

"Father! Dea!"

At the edge of a large, bubbling red lake stood Audric and Dea. Both looked a bit disheveled and the young woman had some bruises on her chin and wrists, but looked to be all right. Encircling them were eight of the Monster Minds: Two Saw Troopers, two Gun Grinners, two Terror Tanks and two K-O Cruisers. All of them had their weapons trained on the pair.

"_As you see, they're very much alive...for now. If you don't cooperate, I'll do **this** to them..."_

A strong wind began to blow, seemingly to come from out of nowhere.

"Gillian! What's going on?" Flora called out.

The wizard was silent for a moment, then saw a black line appearing just beside the encirclement of Monster Minds and the two people.

"That is...does he even know what he is doing with that?" Gillian asked, aghast.

"What's goin' on, Pops?" Herc demanded.

As Gillian spoke, the black line seemed to rip and rend the ground and air, twisting in a spiral that grew larger.

"That, Herc, is a portal, and not any normal kind. This is one that either goes to another world or into a space between dimensions and time, called the Vortex."

"Wait a minute...not _the_ Vortex?" Jayce asked.

"Yes, that one. Almost no-one has ever entered that place and told the tale."

"Any way to close that thing?" Herc asked.

"With a portal of this magnitude? The only way is for someone to step inside it."

Jayce quickly looked around him, looking for anything that would give the Lightning League even a little advantage.

"Jayce...Monster Minds are closing in," Flora managed to say as she looked around as well.

"_Very astute, little girl and old wizard. For once, **I** have the upper hand! No matter what the son of Audric chooses, I will gain both halves of the Root this day. The era of the animals is over, and my goal of a universe for all plants is upon us!"_

Oon let out an angry noise and lowered his lance, pointing it at the encriclement. He moved forward as though to charge, but let out a yell and fell. When he stood up again, the Eternal Squire tried to move and glanced down.

A pair of vines had grabbed his ankles and squeezed tightly.

"That's it, Buzz saw," Herc growled and reached for his blaster, "Time for a stir-fry!"

Before he could lift the weapon, some of the other Gun Grinners moved in and surrounded him, Gillian, Oon and Flora.

Jayce, who was a short distance away from the others, looked between the spot where his father and friends were and where several of the Monster Minds surrounded them.

Beside the two hostages, the portal continued to widen, and soon was a large, oval of swirling black, with a mist at the edges.

"_Well, boy?"_ He heard Saw Boss demand in that roaring, imperious voice of his, _"Make your choice! Both parts of the Root or Audric and the girl!"_

In Jayce's mind, Herc's warning replayed: _Don't you dare do something like that unless there is absolutely no other option. Promise?_

No matter what he could think up, there seemed to be only one solution to this disaster. Jayce sighed and then looked at first his father, then at the prim, blonde-haired woman wearing a garnet tiara that was very close in style to his own.

_Dea...I'm sorry._

The young woman peered at him, looking right into his blue eyes, and seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. Her only physical indication was to give a simple nod.

_Do as you wish,___he heard in his mind**.**

Jayce touched his ring, raising it to his heart.

"Right of Light, Magic Might," he whispered, then thought, _Please, do what you must to save Father, Dea and the others. Please, get them as fast and far away from this planet as possible, and safely!_ He paused his thoughts and _added, Serve my father as faithfully as you have me. Please, grant my last wish!_

It glittered for a second as suddenly, Audric, Dea and the others became transparent.

At the same time, the Monster Minds tried to advance upon not only Herc, Gillian, Oon and Flora but also Audric and Dea. The mutant plants bounced off within inches of them, seemingly surrounded by an invisible field.

"_What! What is going on?"_ Sawboss roared.

The ring and one of the Root amulets vanished from Jayce's person and suddenly appeared on Audric's.

"Wha…Jayce?! What are you doing?!" the older man called in alarm.

_I put my fate into the hands of time._

"It's the only way now…father, it's my turn."

His eyes widened in shock. "Jayce! No!"

_We'll see each other again...I believe it._

"Look for me. Come find me," he replied quietly, then moved towards the anomaly.

"No, Jayce! You can't!" Flora shouted.

"M-M-master! You'll be k-k-killed in there!"

He smiled softly and looked directly at Audric. He mouthed, "I love you, Father."

The older man had seen the silent message and nodded, eyes filled with grief.

Jayce spoke one last thing, "You'll find me. Promise." His back now was to the rift. He closed his eyes, crossed his arms in front of his chest…and then leaned backwards, falling into the Vortex.

As he fell in, a beam of light shot from the ring into the portal.

An anguished cry tore from Flora just as the others in the Lightning League blinked out of existence.

The next thing they new, all of them, including Dea, were on the **Pride. **The ship, surrounded by an aura of white light, was departing rather quickly from Kitta III and its moon.

"Oh no...Jayce..." Flora whispered in a quiet, shocked voice.

Herc simply stared at the vanishing planet with hard eyes while the others had different reactions. Flora was weeping, Oon was not doing much better. Dea was trying to comfort the half-plant girl while fighting back her own pain. Gillian was talking quietly to first Oon, and then moved towards his old friend. Audric, though…tears spilled down his face exactly in the same way that Jayce had wept in the Dreamworld, having thought that his father was murdered.

"Audric...I'm so sorry," Gillian said, using the back of one hand to scrub at his face while placing the other on his friend's right shoulder. "If I had been more observant..."

"U-uncle Audric," Dea murmured, putting a hand on the man's arm and looking at him sympathetically. "First Jayce went looking for you, now you'll have to do the hunting. I hope to—I hope he's still alive and not between the…"

"Jayce…" he murmured. "I'll find you…if you survive, I'll find you."

Audric closed his eyes, the image of his own son mouthing something to him before saying his final words and falling backwards. He raised a hand to the Root around his neck. The Ring of Light glittered on his finger, as it had before when Jayce wore it.

"We better set a course to Aunitia," Herc finally said, "We've got a Director to return."

Dea's head snapped around with a fiery glare. The mercenary shook his head, knowing what she would say.

"Nuh-uh, angel-cakes. You'll do us more good back home than you would traveling with the rest of us again."

"But--!"

"Dea," Audric spoke, his voice rough and quiet, "If we find anything, anything at all, I'll tell you right away."

She gave an angry sigh and reluctantly nodded.

"All right."

The remaining members of the Lightning League remained silent as the light surrounding the ship from Jayce's last wish guided the Pride of the Skies away from Kitta III.


End file.
